Flood warning systems face multiple challenges. For example, challenges exist in the collection of data of water levels in specific areas, especially critical areas. Also, challenges exist in the determination of the people who should receive flood warnings.
Collection of water level data on rivers, areas, and streets for flood forecasting and monitoring can be performed by a variety of existing techniques, from satellite technology to manual methods. However, the cost, particularly the maintenance cost of sensors, often restricts their deployment in large areas. This can be especially true for developing countries.
In general, once water level data is collected, it can be used, together with flow information, meteorological and topological data, and similar data, to forecast flooding levels in specific areas. This information can then be used to warn people likely to be affected by the flooding, through mechanisms such as radio and television broadcasting, special disaster warning radio systems, and phone-based systems.
However, subscribing to such phone-based systems require often large advertising campaigns or similar communication efforts, which often have a limited time span and often do not follow the changes in the local residents. This is particularly important in many neighborhoods of large cities, where moving patterns are accelerated.
Accordingly, existing approaches possess a limited ability to sense flood levels in different parts of the city, and can often have difficulty in communicating with citizens in a specific area of the city affected by flooding, as well as facilitating communication between citizens and a call center with respect to description of localization and nature of flooding.